Nearly $400K raised to help father who shot Oregon school shooter treat trauma

Nearly $400,000 has been raised to provide trauma care and financial support for the father who stopped a teenage gunman who killed three children and a teacher at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon.

In a GoFundMe campaign that has raised more than $376,000 as of Monday afternoon, longtime family friend Amy Reynolds identified the married father of two daughters as 36-year-old Kaylub Giamanco.

When the unthinkable happened at their school, Kaylub took action. He followed the gunman into the building and stopped him, putting his own life at risk in the process.

“People are calling him a hero. And while his actions were extraordinarily brave, those of us who know Kaylub know that he would simply say he did what any loving father and community member would have done. But what Kaylub did was anything but ordinary,” Reynolds wrote.

“He acted out of love. Love for his daughters, love for the children inside that school and love for the community he has called home for most of his life. And now, as the immediate danger has passed, Kaylub and his family are left to process something no family should ever have to experience,” she explained.

“Being brave does not mean being unaffected. Being a hero does not mean you don't need help. Kaylub, his wife, Kelsey, and their two young daughters have an incredibly difficult road ahead of them. The emotional and psychological impact of this tragedy cannot be overstated, and they deserve the time, space, and resources to begin healing together.”

In an interview with CNN affiliate KOVR-TV, Kaylub’s mother, Kenda Freeman, recalled an emotional phone call she had with her son shortly after the shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School that left five people dead, including the shooter, 16-year-old Griffin J. John II, and two others injured.

“He said, 'Mom, I just shot and killed somebody.' And I said, 'Kaylub, tell me about it.' And he said, 'A man went into my daughter's school and shot kids.' And he said, 'And I looked at him point blank and I shot and killed him, mom,'” Freeman said.

While she expressed sympathy for the other families affected, Freeman expressed relief that her granddaughters were spared.

“It's tough because I'm, well, I'm thankful that my babies are OK. There are babies that are not. And that's ... that's hard to swallow cause my heart goes out to those families. They didn't get to bring their babies home,” she said.

Bend Police Department said they first responded to a call about an active shooter at the school at 12:59 p.m. on Thursday. They were initially told that an unknown man had shot into a car, and they were on the scene by 1:02 p.m. Seconds after that, officers reported the suspect had been shot and killed, possibly by a bystander later identified as Kaylub. At a press conference Friday, Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz provided additional details on the deceased and others who took heroic action, including a teacher who fought with the shooter before he was shot dead by Giamanco.

Investigators say that at approximately 12:58 p.m. on Thursday, two vehicles were traveling westbound on Brentwood Avenue near Silver Rail Elementary. The suspect approached the fenced rear of the school from an undeveloped area near Nina Avenue. He was witnessed throwing his weapon over the fence and then climbing over that fence onto school property.

Police say the driver of a red Toyota pickup truck, who witnessed the suspect doing this, verbally confronted him, and the teenager fired at the driver, hitting his vehicle three times. The Toyota driver made his way down the street and called 911.

Giamanco, who witnessed the shooting unfold, drove into the parking lot of the school where his daughters attended. Police say the suspected shooter forced his way into the school through an external set of double doors.

“He fired multiple rounds into the glass panes in the door to gain access to the school, then went directly into the classroom immediately to the left of the entry doors. He fired as many as 15 rounds in all, though the exact number fired in the classroom is still under investigation. All victims were shot in that classroom,” the Bend Police Department said in a statement.

Investigators say Giamanco grabbed a 40-caliber pistol from his vehicle and followed after the suspect.

“He saw a teacher involved in a physical altercation with the suspect and fired his weapon, striking the suspect multiple times,” the Bend Police Department said.

Three children, ages 5, 8, and 11, along with a 25-year-old teacher, were confirmed dead. A 7-year-old child and a 54-year-old teacher were also hospitalized with critical injuries.

The 5-year-old child was identified as Rhoam Summer, while the 25-year-old teacher was identified as Meghan Lambert of Bend. The other two children were not identified because their parents asked for privacy.

An injured 7-year-old girl, who received lifesaving care at the scene, is being treated at Oregon Health & Science University Hospital. She is in serious but stable condition. Becky Drury, 54, another teacher from Bend, also suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries and is at St. Charles Bend Hospital.

Krantz said the actions of the teacher who struggled with the teenage shooter, who had been a special needs student at the school, should also be treated as “heroic” because he had about 44 rounds remaining when he was shot by Giamanco.

“She was not injured in that incident, but she almost certainly helped prevent more bloodshed,” Krantz said.

Investigators are still reviewing the case, including his motive behind the shooting. The teen used a Mossberg Maverick 88 pump-action shotgun that his mother had purchased for his birthday, sources told NBC News.

“Everyone wants to know why, including us,” Krantz said. “We may never get that full answer, but we want it.”